System and method for presenting information associated with a media program

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an apparatus having a processor adapted to receive a message from a portable communication device communicatively coupled to a set-top box presenting a media program and to retrieve from the message a media descriptor associated with the media program. The processor is further adapted to identify according to the media descriptor one or more images of one or more performers commonly presented in the media program, to monitor one or more frames of a live media feed including the media program, and compare the one or more human figures to the one or more images of performers. The processor can also be adapted to recognize a performer from the comparison, to retrieve information associated with the performer, and to transmit the information to the portable communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to information collectiontechniques.

BACKGROUND

Media communication systems such as cable TV, satellite TV, and InternetProtocol TV can provide subscribers with hundreds of channel optionscollectively presenting media programs that span an expansive genre.Consequently, viewers have a rich selection of media programs they canchoose from. With such a broad scope of content, subscribers mayencounter many actors and actresses that may or may not be known to thesubscribers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-2 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal forinteracting with the communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication deviceutilized in the communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method operating inportions of the systems described in FIGS. 1-4; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments of a portable communication device that receives informationrelating to performers recognized by a remote server by monitoring alive feed of a media program. Other embodiments are contemplated by thepresent disclosure.

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes an apparatus having aprocessor adapted to receive a message from a portable communicationdevice communicatively coupled to a set-top box presenting a mediaprogram and to retrieve from the message a media descriptor associatedwith the media program. The processor is further adapted to identifyaccording to the media descriptor one or more images of one or moreperformers commonly presented in the media program, to monitor one ormore frames of a live media feed including the media program, and tocompare the one or more human figures to the one or more images ofperformers. The processor can also be adapted to recognize a performerfrom the comparison, to retrieve information associated with theperformer, and to transmit the information to the portable communicationdevice.

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a portablecommunication device having a processor adapted to communicativelycouple to a media processor presenting a media program, to determine anidentity of the media program, and to transmit the identity to a remoteserver. The remote server can in turn be operable to retrieve one ormore images of performers according to the identity received from theportable communication device, to monitor one or more frames of a livemedia feed of the media program, and to detect from the one or moreframes one or more human figures. The remote server can be furtheroperable to compare the one or more human figures to the one or moreimages of performers, and to recognize a performer from the comparison.

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a method forpresenting a media program at a presentation device, receiving from aportable communication device a request to identify the media program,and transmitting an identity of the media program to the portablecommunication device. The portable communication device can be operableto transmit the identity to a remote server. The remote server can inturn be operable to recognize a performer from the media program and totransmit information associated with the performer to the portablecommunication device.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 100 for delivering media content. The communication system 100can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) media system. TheIPTV media system can include a super head-end office (SHO) 110 with atleast one super headend office server (SHS) 111 which receives mediacontent from satellite and/or terrestrial communication systems. In thepresent context, media content can represent, for example, audiocontent, moving image content such as 2D or 3D videos, video games,virtual reality content, still image content, and combinations thereof.The SHS server 111 can forward packets associated with the media contentto one or more video head-end servers (VHS) 114 via a network of videohead-end offices (VHO) 112 according to a common multicast communicationprotocol.

The VHS 114 can distribute multimedia broadcast content via an accessnetwork 118 to commercial and/or residential buildings 102 housing agateway 104 (such as a residential or commercial gateway). The accessnetwork 118 can represent a group of digital subscriber line accessmultiplexers (DSLAMs) located in a central office or a service areainterface that provide broadband services over fiber optical links orcopper twisted pairs 119 to buildings 102. The gateway 104 can usecommon communication technology to distribute broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 106 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast channels to media devices 108 such as computers or televisionsets managed in some instances by a media controller 107 (such as aninfrared or RF remote control).

The gateway 104, the media processors 106, and media devices 108 canutilize tethered communication technologies (such as coaxial, powerlineor phone line wiring) or can operate over a wireless access protocolsuch as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth, Zigbee, or other present ornext generation local or personal area wireless network technologies. Byway of these interfaces, unicast communications can also be invokedbetween the media processors 106 and subsystems of the IPTV media systemfor services such as video-on-demand (VoD), browsing an electronicprogramming guide (EPG), or other infrastructure services.

A satellite broadcast television system 129 can be used also in themedia system of FIG. 1. The satellite broadcast television system can beoverlaid, operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system as anotherrepresentative embodiment of communication system 100. In thisembodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 115 carrying mediacontent can be received by a satellite dish receiver 131 coupled to thebuilding 102. Modulated signals received by the satellite dish receiver131 can be transferred to the media processors 106 for demodulating,decoding, encoding, and/or distributing broadcast channels to the mediadevices 108. The media processors 106 can be equipped with a broadbandport to the ISP network 132 to enable interactive services such as VoDand EPG as described above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital cable broadcastdistribution system such as cable TV system 133 can be overlaid,operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system and/or the satelliteTV system as another representative embodiment of communication system100. In this embodiment, the cable TV system 133 can also provideInternet, telephony, and interactive media services.

It is contemplated that the present disclosure can apply to any presentor next generation over-the-air and/or landline media content servicessystem.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 130, a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing web portal services over an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) network 132 to wireline media devices 108 or wirelesscommunication devices 116.

Multiple forms of media services can be offered to media devices overlandline technologies such as those described above. Additionally, mediaservices can be offered to media devices by way of a wireless accessbase station 117 operating according to common wireless access protocolssuch as Global System for Mobile or GSM, Code Division Multiple Accessor CDMA, Time Division Multiple Access or TDMA, Universal MobileTelecommunications or UMTS, World interoperability for Microwave orWiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, Long Term Evolution or LTE, and soon). Other present and next generation wide area wireless networktechnologies are contemplated by the present disclosure.

System 100 can also provide for all or a portion of the computingdevices 130 to function as a remote server (herein referred to as remoteserver 130). The remote server 130 can use common computing andcommunication technology to perform function 164 which can include,among other things, the acts of communicating with portablecommunication devices 116 to provide information relating the performersin a media program presented by a media processor 106 communicativelycoupled to the portable communication device 116.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thedevices of FIG. 1 are described below.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 200employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture tofacilitate the combined services of circuit-switched and packet-switchedsystems. Communication system 200 can be overlaid or operably coupledwith communication system 100 as another representative embodiment ofcommunication system 100.

Communication system 200 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)240, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 230, and other commonnetwork elements of an IMS network 250. The IMS network 250 canestablish communications between IMS compliant communication devices(CD) 201, 202, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CDs 203, 205,and combinations thereof by way of a Media Gateway Control Function(MGCF) 220 coupled to a PSTN network 260. The MGCF 220 is not used whena communication session involves IMS CD to IMS CD communications. Anycommunication session involving at least one PSTN CD requires the use ofthe MGCF 220.

IMS CDs 201, 202 can register with the IMS network 250 by contacting aProxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with acorresponding Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with at the HSS240. To initiate a communication session between CDs, an originating IMSCD 201 can submit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) message toan originating P-CSCF 204 which communicates with a correspondingoriginating S-CSCF 206. The originating S-CSCF 206 can submit the SIPINVITE message to an application server (AS) such as reference 217 thatcan provide a variety of services to IMS subscribers. For example, theapplication server 217 can be used to perform originating treatmentfunctions on the calling party number received by the originating S-CSCF206 in the SIP INVITE message. Originating treatment functions caninclude determining whether the calling party number has internationalcalling services, and/or is requesting special telephony features (e.g.,*72 forward calls, *73 cancel call forwarding, *67 for caller IDblocking, and so on).

Additionally, the originating S-CSCF 206 can submit queries to the ENUMsystem 230 to translate an E.164 telephone number in the SIP INVITE to aSIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) if the terminating communicationdevice is IMS compliant. The SIP URI can be used by an InterrogatingCSCF (I-CSCF) 207 to submit a query to the HSS 240 to identify aterminating S-CSCF 214 associated with a terminating IMS CD such asreference 202. Once identified, the I-CSCF 207 can submit the SIP INVITEto the terminating S-CSCF 214. The terminating S-CSCF 214 can thenidentify a terminating P-CSCF 216 associated with the terminating CD202. The P-CSCF 216 then signals the CD 202 to establish Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP) communication services, thereby enabling thecalling and called parties to engage in voice and/or datacommunications.

If the terminating communication device is instead a PSTN CD such asreferences 203 or 205, the ENUM system 230 can respond with anunsuccessful address resolution which can cause the originating S-CSCF206 to forward the call to the MGCF 220 via a Breakout Gateway ControlFunction (BGCF) 219. The MGCF 220 can then initiate the call to theterminating PSTN CD over the PSTN network 260 to enable the calling andcalled parties to engage in voice communications.

The aforementioned communication process is symmetrical. Accordingly,the terms “originating” and “terminating” in FIG. 2 are interchangeable.It is further noted that communication system 200 can be adapted tosupport video conferencing. In addition, communication system 200 can beadapted to provide the IMS CDs 201, 203 with the multimedia and Internetservices of communication system 100.

It is further appreciated that the CDs of FIG. 2 can operate as wirelineor wireless devices. Although not shown, the CDs of FIG. 2 can becommunicatively coupled to a cellular base station, a femtocell, a WiFirouter, a DECT base unit, or another suitable wireless access unit toestablish communications with the IMS network 250 of FIG. 2.Accordingly, multiple wireline and wireless communication technologiesare contemplated for the CDs of FIG. 2.

System 200 can include or otherwise be coupled with server 130 of FIG. 1for purposes similar to those described above. It is furthercontemplated by the present disclosure that the remote server 130 canperform function 164 and thereby supply CDs 201, 202, 203, or 205performer information associated with a monitored media program.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thedevices of FIG. 2 are described below.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal 302 which canbe hosted by server applications operating from the computing devices130 of the communication system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. The webportal 302 can be used for managing services of communication systems100-200. A web page of the web portal 302 can be accessed by a UniformResource Locator (URL) with a Internet browser such as Microsoft'sInternet Explorer™, Mozilla's Firefox™, Apple's Safari™, or Google'sChrome™ using an Internet-capable communication device such as thosedescribed for FIGS. 1-2. The web portal 302 can be configured, forexample, to access a media processor 106 and services managed therebysuch as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a Video on Demand (VoD) catalog,an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG), or a personal catalog (such aspersonal videos, pictures, audio recordings, etc.) stored in the mediaprocessor 106. The web portal 302 can also be used for provisioning IMSservices described earlier, provisioning Internet services, provisioningcellular phone services, and so on.

It is contemplated by the present disclosure that the web portal 302 canfurther be adapted to manage and provision software applications of theremote server 130, portable communication devices of FIGS. 1 and 2, andthe media processor 106 of FIG. 1. Software function 164 in the remoteserver 130 can make use of the settings provisioned by the web portable302 to monitor a live feed and present performer information to theportable communication devices of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of theweb portal 302 of FIG. 3 are described below.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communication device 400.Communication device 400 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the devices depicted in FIGS. 1-2. Thecommunication device 400 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 402 (herein transceiver 402), a user interface (UI) 404, apower supply 414, a location receiver 416, and a controller 406 formanaging operations thereof. The transceiver 402 can support short-rangeor long-range wireless access technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi,Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), or cellularcommunication technologies, just to mention a few. Cellular technologiescan include, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE,EV/DO, WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation cellularwireless communication technologies as they arise. The transceiver 402can also be adapted to support circuit-switched wireline accesstechnologies (such as PSTN), packet-switched wireline accesstechnologies (such as TCPIP, VoIP, etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 404 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 408 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device400. The keypad 408 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 400 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth. The keypad 408 canrepresent a numeric dialing keypad commonly used by phones, and/or aQwerty keypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 404 can further include adisplay 410 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display),OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technologyfor conveying images to an end user of the communication device 400. Inan embodiment where the display 410 is touch-sensitive, a portion or allof the keypad 408 can be presented by way of the display 410 with itsnavigation features.

The UI 404 can also include an audio system 412 that utilizes commonaudio technology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heardonly in the proximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such asspeakerphone for hands free operation). The audio system 412 can furtherinclude a microphone for receiving audible signals of an end user. Theaudio system 412 can also be used for voice recognition applications.The UI 404 can further include an image sensor 413 such as a chargedcoupled device (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 414 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and charging system technologies for supplying energy tothe components of the communication device 400 to facilitate long-rangeor short-range portable applications. The location receiver 416 canutilize common location technology such as a global positioning system(GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS for identifying a location of thecommunication device 400 based on signals generated by a constellationof GPS satellites, thereby facilitating common location services such asnavigation.

The communication device 400 can use the transceiver 402 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth, or other wirelessaccess points by common sensing techniques such as utilizing a receivedsignal strength indicator (RSSI) and/or a signal time of arrival (TOA)or time of flight (TOF). The controller 406 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such a Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies.

The communication device 400 can be adapted to perform the functions ofthe media processor 106, the media devices 108, or the portablecommunication devices 116 of FIG. 1, as well as the IMS CDs 201-202 andPSTN CDs 203-205 of FIG. 2. It will be appreciated that thecommunication device 400 can also represent other common devices thatcan operate in communication systems 100-200 of FIGS. 1-2 such as agaming console and a media player.

It is further contemplated by the present disclosure that thecommunication device 400 can operate as a remote server 130 performing afunction 162 that monitors a live feed and providing performerinformation determined from aspects of the live feed to a portablecommunication device.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thecommunication device of FIG. 4 are described below.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative method 500 that operates in portions ofthe devices of FIGS. 1-4. Method 500 can begin with step 502 in which aportable communication device establishes communications with a mediaprocessor. A portable communication device can represent multiple formsof wireless devices such as a cellular phone, a personal digitalassistant, a smart phone, a tablet, each with long-range wirelesscapability (e.g., cellular), short-range wireless capability (e.g., WiFior Bluetooth) capability, or combinations thereof. For illustrationpurposes, the portable communication device will be referred to byreference 116. It will be appreciated, however, that other portabledevices such as those shown in FIGS. 1-4 are contemplated by the presentdisclosure. The media processor referred to in step 502, can represent,for example, the STB 106 of FIG. 1 which can present media programs suchas TV shows, movies, or like programs by way of a presentation devicesuch as a TV set 108. For illustration purposes, the media processorwill be referred to by reference 106.

With the above embodiments in mind, the portable communication device116 can establish communications with the media processor 106 by way ofa wireless interface such as WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular (e.g., with afemtocell), or other wireless means. Once communications have beenestablished, the portable communication device 116 can be prompted atstep 504 to automatically or by a user-initiated prompt to submit arequest to the media processor 106 for an identity of a media program(e.g., TV show, HBO movie, etc.) being presented by the media processor106 at a presentation device 108.

The portable communication device 116 can be programmed with a userprofile configured by a user by way of the web portal 302 toautomatically make such requests when coupled to the media processor106. Alternatively, the user of the portable communication device 116can be presented a menu or selectable icons in the UI 404 which, whenselected by the user, prompt the portable communication device 116 tosubmit a request to the media processor 106 in step 504.

The identity of the media program can be a title of the media program, aprogram channel presenting the media program (e.g., channel 5), or othersuitable information for identifying the media program. Upon receivingthe request, the media processor 106 can identify the media program frommetadata supplied by the media communication system (e.g., an EPG). Atstep 506, the portable communication device 116 can receive the identityof the media program from the media processor 106, and at step 508transmit the identity to the remote server 130. The portablecommunication device 116 can transmit this information over the ISPnetwork 132 of FIG. 1, a data channel of the wireless base station 117of FIG. 1, the IMS network 250 of FIG. 2, or any other suitablecommunication means for conveying this information to the remote server130.

At step 510, the remote server 130 can retrieve one or more images ofperformers associated with the media program based on the identityprovided in step 508. For example, suppose a user of the portablecommunication device 106 is watching a Star Trek episode identified bythe media processor 106 by its title. The remote server 130 can searchin a (local or remote) database for images of performers associated withthe title of the Star Trek episode in question. The images of performerscan be collected by a service provider of the media communicationsystem, by a content provider of the media program, or combinationsthereof.

Suppose further that the Star Trek episode involves one of the earlierepisodes of the Star Trek series with performers such as WilliamShatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, andso on. The remote server 130 can retrieve in step 510 images from eachof these performers. Once the images are in the server's 130 memory, theremote server 130 can be adapted to monitor frames from a live feed ofthe media program. The remote server 130 can monitor the live feed froma multicast signal generated at a central office (or VHO), or a livefeed terminated at or near building 102 where the media processor 106 islocated. The remote server 130 can be adapted to monitor frames atperiodic intervals that are suitable for analyzing the media program(e.g., monitor frames every quarter second).

As the remote server 130 begins to monitor frames of the media program,it compares human figures detected in one or more frames with the imagesof performers retrieved in step 510. The remote server 130 can utilizeimage processing technology to identify human figures. The remote server130 can also be adapted to detect at step 516 a match between theperformer images and the human figures. The remote server 130 can beadapted to analyze facial and/or body characteristics of a detectedhuman figure and compare such characteristics to facial and/or bodycharacteristics of the performer images retrieved in step 510. When amatch is detected, the remote server 130 can retrieve in step 518information relating to the detected performer.

For example, suppose the detected performer is William Shatner. Upondetecting a frame with this performer, the remote server 130 canretrieve from its database information associated with Mr. Shatner. Thisinformation can include the performer's history in movies, a list ofother movies and TV shows that he's performed in, advertising and/orpromotional material associated with the performer. Some or all of thisinformation may be presented as selectable hypertext or hyperlinks. Theinformation can be transmitted by the remote server 130 to the portablecommunication device 116 by similar wireless communication means used bythe portable communication device 116 at step 508.

At step 522, the portable communication device 116 can present theinformation on its display 410. When more than one performer isdetected, the presentation can be organized in quadrants so that theuser can visualize each performer's information simultaneously. For aportable communication device 116 having a large form-factor such as atablet display (e.g., iPAD™), an organizational structure based on aquadrant segmentation of the display 410 can be useful. For portablecommunication devices 116 having small displays (e.g., a cellularphone), there may only be room for presenting one performer at a time.In such instances, the portable communication device 116 can be adaptedso that a user can manipulate the UI 404 to scroll between performers byswiping a touch-display or scrolling between hidden views with anavigation mechanism such as a disk with four depressible sections(left, right, up, down).

The portable communication device 116 can be further adapted to detectin step 524 selections made by the user by way of the UI 404 from theselectable links presented in the information. The portablecommunication device 116 can act on these selections in a number of waysdepending on the function of the selectable link. For example, theinformation presented at step 522 can include a number of selectablelinks for viewing a biography of the performer (e.g., William Shatner'slife), a documentary of movies and TV shows involving the performer,downloadable movies or TV shows from one or more media sources involvingthe performer, an EPG that presents upcoming shows including theperformer, links to websites associated with the performer, links toadvertisements and promotional materials, and so on.

For informational links such as web pages, the portable communicationdevice 116 can be directed to step 526 where it presents additionalinformation from the selected link. The information can be a web pagewith scrollable information and/or other hyperlinks which can direct auser to other web sites. If instead the user has chosen to act oninformation that can cause the media processor 106 to perform othertasks, then the portable communication device 116 can proceed to step528 where it performs a programming function such as programming a DVR.Steps 522, 524 and 528 can represent, for example, a user navigating alisting of media programs associated with the identified performer(e.g., an EPG showing TV and movie listings with William Shatner), theuser choosing to record one or more TV or movie listings of theperformer at step 524, and a transmission at step 528 of recordinginstructions directed at a DVR embedded in the media processor 106 oroperatively coupled thereto to record the desired programs.

The embodiments of method 500 are non-limiting illustrations of how auser of a portable communication device 116 can view related informationof performers of a media program while the media program is beingviewed. Viewing performer information with a portable communicationdevice 116 rather than by way of a presentation device 108 (e.g., a TVset) can be more desirable than superimposing or restructuring a viewingarea of the media program at the presentation device 108 to accommodateperformer information. Method 500 also describes a technique in whichmultiple viewers of the same media program can have the flexibility tomake selections associated with performer information without theviewers disturbing each other.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, method 500 can beadapted so that the media processor 106 can perform all or a portion ofthe functions of the remote server 130. For instance, the mediaprocessor 106 can be adapted to monitor the live feed associated withthe media program and perform image recognition analysis to identifyperformers from known images. To effectively manage storage resources,the media processor 106 can rely on the remote server 130 to provideimages of the performers upon supplying the remote server 130 anidentity of the media program. This and other embodiments arecontemplated by the present disclosure. In yet another embodiment,method 500 can be adapted so that the media processor 106 is operable totransmit to a portable communication device 116 (upon receiving arequest from device 116) closed captioned information relating to themedia program being viewed. In this embodiment the user of the portablecommunication device 116 can also view closed captioned informationwithout having it presented at the presentation device 108, thereby notdisturbing other viewers who may not have an interest in seeing closedcaptioned text.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 600 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethods discussed above. The machine can operate, for example, as theremote server 130, the media processor 106, the gateway 104, orcombinations thereof as described above.] In some embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device. In some embodiments, themachine may be connected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of aserver or a client user machine in server-client user networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methods discussed herein.

The computer system 600 may include a processor 602 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 604 and a static memory 606, which communicate with each othervia a bus 608. The computer system 600 may further include a videodisplay unit 610 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system600 may include an input device 612 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 614 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 616, a signal generationdevice 618 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 620.

The disk drive unit 616 may include a machine-readable medium 622 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 624)embodying any one or more of the methods or functions described herein,including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 624 may alsoreside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 604,the static memory 606, and/or within the processor 602 during executionthereof by the computer system 600. The main memory 604 and theprocessor 602 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 624, or that which receives and executes instructions 624from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 626 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 626 using the instructions 624. Theinstructions 624 may further be transmitted or received over a network626 via the network interface device 620.

While the machine-readable medium 622 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethods of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; and magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can beseen that various features are grouped together in a single embodimentfor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method ofdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimedsubject matter.

1. An apparatus, comprising: a memory storing computer instructions; anda processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor, responsive toexecuting the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:receiving a message from a portable communication device communicativelycoupled to a set-top box presenting a media program; identifying in themessage a media descriptor associated with the media program;identifying according to the media descriptor one or more images of oneor more performers commonly presented in the media program; monitoringone more frames of a live media feed including the media program;detecting from the one or more frames one or more human figures;comparing the one or more human figures to the one or more images;recognizing a performer from the comparison; retrieving informationassociated with the performer; and transmitting the information to theportable communication device.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theapparatus is a server.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theinformation provided to the portable communication device comprises atleast one of an identity of the performer, a selection of one or moreother media programs associated with the performer, advertisingmaterial, promotional material, or a selectable link to retrieveadditional information about the performer.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the information comprises one or more selectable hyperlinks. 5.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor, responsive to executingthe computer instructions, performs operations comprising locating theone or more images of the one or more performers at a remote database.6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the information provided to theportable communication device comprises metadata associated with theperformer.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more imagesof the one or more performers are stored in a database, and wherein thedatabase is updated when new media programs are made available.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the media descriptor comprises one of atitle of the media program or a program channel from which the mediaprogram is viewed.
 9. A computer-readable storage medium, comprisingcomputer instructions which, responsive to being executed by at leastone processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operationscomprising: receiving at an apparatus a message from a portablecommunication device communicatively coupled to a set-top box presentinga media program; identifying at the apparatus in the message a mediadescriptor associated with the media program; identifying at theapparatus according to the media descriptor one or more images of one ormore performers commonly presented in the media program; monitoring atthe apparatus one or more frames of a live media feed including themedia program; detecting at the apparatus from the one or more framesone or more human figures; comparing at the apparatus the one or morehuman figures to the one or more images; recognizing at the apparatus aperformer from the comparison; retrieving at the apparatus informationassociated with the performer; and transmitting from the apparatus theinformation to the portable communication device.
 10. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the apparatus is aserver.
 11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein theinformation provided to the portable communication device comprises atleast one of an identity of the performer, a selection of one or moreother media programs associated with the performer, advertisingmaterial, promotional material, or a selectable link to retrieveadditional information about the performer.
 12. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 9, wherein the information comprises one or moreselectable hyperlinks.
 13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim9, comprising computer instructions which when executed by the at leastone processor cause the at least one processor to perform operationscomprising locating at the apparatus the one or more images of the oneor more performers at a remote database.
 14. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 9, wherein the information provided to theportable communication device comprises metadata associated with theperformer.
 15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, whereinthe one or more images of the one or more performers are stored in adatabase, and wherein the database is updated when new media programsare made available.
 16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9,wherein the media descriptor comprises one of a title of the mediaprogram or a program channel from which the media program is viewed. 17.A method, comprising: utilizing an apparatus including at least oneprocessor for receiving a message from a portable communication devicecommunicatively coupled to a set-top box presenting a media program;utilizing the apparatus for identifying in the message a mediadescriptor associated with the media program; utilizing the apparatusfor identifying according to the media descriptor one or more images ofone or more performers commonly presented in the media program;utilizing the apparatus for monitoring one or more frames of a livemedia feed including the media program; utilizing the apparatus fordetecting from the one or more frames one or more human figures;utilizing the apparatus for comparing the one or more human figures tothe one or more images; utilizing the apparatus for recognizing aperformer from the comparison; utilizing the apparatus for retrievinginformation associated with the performer; and utilizing the apparatusfor transmitting the information to the portable communication device.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the apparatus is a server.
 19. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the information provided to the portablecommunication device comprises at least one of an identity of theperformer, a selection of one or more other media programs associatedwith the performer, advertising material, promotional material, or aselectable link to retrieve additional information about the performer.20. The method of claim 17, wherein the information comprises one ormore selectable hyperlinks.